There’s a good deal of excitement in the restaurant market around the Restaurant365 solution.

Positioned as the most comprehensive back office software for restaurants, it’s generated a considerable amount of press – from coverage in Restaurant News to startup journals like Built in LA.

With the hype, though, comes an accompanying level of obscurity. The idea of an all-in-one platform is powerful, but what can Restaurant365 accomplish – and how can you know if it’s right for you?

Here are a few factors to consider as you evaluate whether or not Restaurant365 may be able to benefit your business as a restaurant accounting software solution.

Why Restaurant365 May Be Right for You

So, what makes Restaurant365 a good fit for a restaurant business? There are two primary factors that signal a high fit: a need for greater efficiency in the restaurant space and a desire to grow.

You want the efficiency that comes from a restaurant-tailored solution.

Restaurant365 is highly efficient in a restaurant context because it’s been carefully designed for restaurants.

For example, the solution accommodates the 12 standard accounting periods, but it’s designed to make the transition to 13 periods simple in order to enable the 4-week reporting format that most restaurants would prefer.

It’s also integrated with well over 100 POS systems, many of them restaurant-focused, to automate the flow of transactional data. It even offers real-time access to sales data – meaning that you can log in and see sales as they happen.

Overall, the efficiency of data in Restaurant365 reduces manual entry, cuts back on error, and minimizes the risks of fraud.

And while general software solutions can work in a restaurant business environment, they tend to require workarounds, increased manual data entry, or simply areas of inefficiency.

You want to consolidate reporting for all business entities.

Because Restaurant365 is built for the restaurant space, it’s built to handle the realities of business structures in the industry. Business owners often create and utilize real estate entities, management entities, commissaries, and location entities to organize assets and resources.

Restaurant365 is able to consolidate all of these entities seamlessly.

You want to grow your franchise restaurant business.

Because Restaurant365 enables restaurant efficiency through an all-in-one solution, it makes scaling your restaurant business, whether a franchised business or a unique restaurant concept, easier.

Businesses that use general solutions often face inefficiencies that grow with scale; manual tasks that were manageable at 20 locations become unmanageable at 75 or 100 plus. General solutions are typically unable to provide detailed revenue and prime costs reporting on demand – certainly not at scale.

Why Restaurant365 May Not Be Right for You

While Restaurant365 can be ideal for scaling a restaurant business, it may not be necessary for businesses that don’t necessitate detailed reporting capabilities and don’t plan to scale.

Detailed reporting isn’t a priority.

Yes, Restaurant365 offers an abundance of powerful reporting features – but the reality is that, for some businesses, detailed reporting may not be a priority. The cost factor of a powerful solution may not be worth it in these scenarios.

You don’t want to scale your restaurant business.

Really, Restaurant365 makes the most sense for scaling restaurant businesses. For businesses that are sitting at 3 or 4 locations, are able to work with generalized solutions and processes, and have no plans for growth, Restaurant365 may not make sense. The cost-efficiencies gained by switching to the solution may not counterbalance the cost of the solution itself.

Want to Learn More About the Fit of Restaurant365 in Your Context?

If you’re considering the Restaurant365 solution but aren’t sure whether or not it’s a fit for your business, get in touch with us for a free consultation.

At Global Shared Services, we’re a featured Restaurant365 accounting partner, which means we’re able to cost-efficiently offer services via the software thanks to our partnership. However, we’ve worked with the vast majority of software solutions in the restaurant accounting space. We seek to provide companies with solutions in the formats that work best for them, no matter what software that entails.

Put simply, we can help you analyze the accounting systems that will work best in your environment. If you’re considering a new solution, let’s talk.

And while general software solutions can work in a restaurant business environment, they tend to require workarounds, increased manual data entry, or simply areas of inefficiency.